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Airstream at campAirstream at camp1 of 26The new Airstream Basecamp sleeps two and has everything you'd want in a trailer: from shower and commode to heater, hot water, sink, propane stove and fridge. All that's missing is Wi-Fi and a TV. Pricing starts at $34,900. That's our Pathfinder tow vehicle.

Gallery Airstream Base Camp Photo 1314 of 26More attachments. These were big and bulky when rolled up and we stowed them in the tow vehicle, because otherwise they'd take up big chunks of the trailer's interior.

It's much smaller than Airstream's gleaming land yachts but just as shiny

December 7, 2016

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Airstream is the quintessential travel trailer maker, having cranked out gleaming silver road tubes for over 80 years. The shiny highway shells stand out in the RV club no matter where you park them, making you the envy of Good Sams around the globe. Problem was, the darn things cost so much you could never afford to step up out of your trailer park fiberglass lean-to. The last Airstream travel trailer we tow-tested was $88,000 for 34 feet of interstate prestige. And even that one had its imperfections.

So what’s a status-conscious upwardly mobile camper to do? Perhaps an Airstream Basecamp is the answer.

You may recall that a Basecamp model was originally introduced in May 2006; Airstream produced roughly 200 of them until early 2008 when they stopped production just before the recession hit. This new version of the Basecamp has a nod to the original in its styling, but Airstream has reimagined it. Its semi-monocoque aluminum structure is 16 feet, 3 inches long, 7 feet wide and 8 feet, 6 inches high with our optional air conditioner on the roof. Inside, it offers 6 feet, 3 1/2 inches of standing room. But this is no Tiny House remake. Regardless of a nice entryway standing-up area, there is precious little room inside. If you served on a submarine in the Navy, you will know.

Airstream Basecamp at the beach. Photo by Mark Vaughn

The unit base weight is 2,585 pounds with the propane tanks and batteries, of which an entirely reasonable 410 pounds rests on the trailer hitch. Fully loaded for the weekend, the trailer’s GVWR is rated at 3,500 pounds, well within the tow ratings of even lighter-duty SUVs and pickups.

There’s 22 gallons of fresh water, and it’ll hold 29 gallons of a black water/gray water mixture in a separate single tank. That’s more than enough for two people for a weekend if they don’t take too many showers.

Yes, there is a shower, plus a toilet, sink, two-burner stove and a German-made Truma Combi eco plus heating system that heats both the cabin and the water very efficiently.

Airstream Basecamp at elevation as the sun sets and the temps drop. A lot nicer than dancing by a campfire to stay warm. Photo by Mark Vaughn

How does it glamp?

We camped out in it two nights.

First, we hooked it up to a Nissan Pathfinder Platinum edition SUV and headed to Dockweiler RV Park on the beach at the end of runway 7R at LAX. Despite weighing less than 3,000 pounds, it’s not “like nothing” behind the Pathfinder, as so many observers speculated. Especially not with 183 pounds of water in the tank. Trailers tend to tug back and forth on their tow vehicles in the same way recalcitrant puppies on a walk tug on their leashes. The Pathfinder’s CVT did seem to be working hard to keep up with demand, especially when passing 18-wheelers on the interstate. Still, it wasn’t ungainly.

Like with many trailers, you can’t see anything behind you except in those relatively dinky outside rearview mirrors. First thing we’d do is install one of those wireless aftermarket rearview cameras on the back of the trailer. Our spot at Dockweiler required backing up to get into, and if you’re good at that, we salute you. Beginners should reserve a pull-through spot.

Once parked, we cranked down the jack stands at the rear corners to keep it from waving back and forth, and fired up dinner. The left-hand burner on the stove worked fine. The right-hand burner was recalcitrant. The sink worked well, too, though we would have positioned it on the other side of the counter, away from the bathroom wall where we could get at it a little easier.

The water heater was particularly impressive: The Truma Combi eco plus heating system got the water hot faster than our home system. But the room heater was a little overeager. You can set the thermostat at whatever temperature you want, but they were all too hot. Even when set down at 55 degrees Fahrenheit, the Truma Combi was cranking air out at what felt like 80. So we switched it off and wore sweaters.

Look how happy this couple is -- they found the table supports that raise their table up to normal height! Photo by Airstream

The back half of the trailer converts from tables to beds and is a bit of a mess in either position -- the trailer needs a whole lot more hooks, hammocks and shelves to hang and stow gear. Try to convert the back half from a bed to a table and you have to do something with all those pads, pillows and packages, then flip up the wooden seats and fold them out. If you were carrying two mountain bikes like the guys in the brochure, you’d want plenty of sturdy tie-down hooks, and we didn’t see those (though the brochure assures us they’re present).

While our rig had only one height for the table supports that hold up the bed, we saw in the brochures that there was a longer set of table legs that could convert the coffee table-high bed supports to regular tables. But no matter what you do, you will have way more junk back there than what they show in the literature. Again, hooks, hangers and haberdasher racks would be the first thing we’d put in here. Also, the pads on the bed are only about 2 inches thick -- we’d custom-make some mattress pads or something. And while there were clever blackout curtains in place for the windows, the ceiling vent fan shone brightly all night thanks to the street light above our spot and then even brighter as soon as the sun rose. A little cover there would be appreciated.

Are we complaining too much?

Our next night was spent up at Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area, almost a mile high in the Los Padres National Forest. Again, the heater couldn’t be tamed no matter where we set the thermostat, so we kept getting up all night and resetting it lower and lower. Pain in the neck. Since it was winter, we didn’t get to try out the A/C, but that would certainly be appreciated in the summer. As would the many visors, awnings, sunshades and tents that can be had with this unit, expanding the usefulness for camping, particularly in summer in places where you need insect protection. We had optional solar panels on the roof that kept the batteries topped off all weekend, and those are for sure appreciated, especially if you’re camping off-grid.

Going with a rig like this is way more comfortable than tent camping, for sure. If you owned one, you would have much of it pre-stocked with plastic camping plates and silverware, dish soap, a couple spice racks and a whole bunch of Conway Twitty albums. For a camping weekend, all you’d have to add would be clothes and food. We can see the value of trailer camping life.

Airstream Basecamp with spooky UFO clouds. Photo by Mark Vaughn

Do I want it?

How much do you value the Airstream’s aluminum prestige? The official MSRP is $34,900, but the Airstream sales agent we asked said the Basecamp cost $38,000 to $40,000. Maybe she thought we were going to buy one and wanted to start the bargaining high.

But would you have to be high to pay that much? Comparably sized travel trailers like, say, a Jayco Hummingbird or Keystone Hideout sticker for half that. For the Basecamp’s sticker price, you could get a much larger trailer from any other trailermaker. Or you can get a 10- or 15-year-old comparably sized unit for $4,500 to just under $7,000 (if you're willing to go the used route).

What’s the value of all that aluminum? We imagine buyers would be the kind of yuppie adventurers who show up in Camp 4 with brand-new orange Patagonia jackets and REI beanies that say “Life Is Good.” But they deserve space at the campfire, don’t they? Sure they do. And this is the travel trailer for them.